Fatboy, GPScity.com

[Cane Pole]

This where I purchased my Garmin gps76. They have gps72 for $139.00. Same as the 76 except it does not have differenital capabilities. You don't need this feature. The 72 can only handle the satelites, whereas, the 76 can handle the satelites and land based systems (called differential signaling). Differential requires a special antenna ($200.00) and is not as accurate as the WAAS capable systems. Differential is just a enhanced version of the old Loran System that has been around for decades. I was not sure what I needed at the lake, that is why the 76. The 72 would do the job just as good as the 76.

GPS 101

[Darryl Morris]

I use a Garmin GPS72 with the WAAS and it hasn't failed me yet. Puts me right on the spots everytime. And a price of 139.00 sound perfect. A data and a D/C power cable should cost you less than 50.00 more.

[unknown 5]

I have been checking out tracking units and have GPScity.com on my favorites list so I can check out their prices.. I want to be sure I buy a unit that will hook into the fishfinder I plan to buy. Will the 72 unit hook into a Hummingbird Matrix fish finder?

[Jerry Blake]

Hey Fatboy:

Garmin has a handy comparison chart on their website - Garmin Comparison Chart

Just click on two or more units then click on "Submit" and you can see the features side by side. Also gives the Suggested Retail Price so you know when you're getting a good deal (should be able to find them for a lot less).

[fatboy]

Thanks Canepole and Jerry for the info on the phone and in here.

[Darryl Morris]

As far as I know the GPS72 does not interface with any depth or fish finder. Kinda got me on that. How does that work? For what purpose would you connect the two?

[Shellback]

I have been checking out tracking units and have GPScity.com on my favorites list so I can check out their prices.. I want to be sure I buy a unit that will hook into the fishfinder I plan to buy. Will the 72 unit hook into a Hummingbird Matrix fish finder?

Hello Redtick, Humminbird does have a cable to connect the Garmin 72 or 76 to their Matrix series. Their price is about $42.00, it may be cheaper at Cabelas somewhere else. An alternative if you don't have any GPS now, or don't want one you can use other than your boat, would be to just buy the Humminbird GPS receiver. They are $100 and come with the cable.

[Shellback]

As far as I know the GPS72 does not interface with any depth or fish finder. Kinda got me on that. How does that work? For what purpose would you connect the two?

The purpose of connecting the 2 is for the ability of viewing just one screen instead of 2. I think it just basically uses the handheld as a receiver and all info is displayed on the F/F screen.

[Moose1am]

Darryl:
Does your Garmin GPS 72 connect to your computer via the computer's serial port or usb port? If so then they can make a cable that will connect it to the Humminbird Matrix Depth finder. Almost all gps units can send out NEMA signals that can be read by computers. These are simple ascii characters that show the long and lat and even depth in some cases. The computer can read them and show them on the computer screen. The humminbird Matrix depth finders can receive the data from the Garmin GPS' units and display the information on the Larger HumminBird Matrix LCR Screen. That helps you see the information better. I think that the Humminbird Matrix depth finders can also show the depth signals from a Humminbird smartcast unit. Are you familar with those smartcast devices? You actually cast the transducer out with your fishing rod and reel and then reel it back the boat. The transducer floats on top of the water and had a keel built into the bottom to keep it upright in the water. It operates on batties and can send a radio signal back to the receive from up to 100ft away. It's completely independent of cables. The sonar unit is inside the floating transducer and sends the sound waves down into the lake and receives them back just like any other transducer. The only difference is that instead of a cable being used to connect the transducer to the depth finder's display they use radio signals. The smart casts sell for under 100 bucks and you can buy a replacement transducer if necessary for about 40 bucks. The only problem with the smartcast units is that the displays are very tiny. They have three different display types. One attaches to your rod and another is like a wrist watch that you wear on your arm. Both have tiny screens and are hard to see. There is another slightly larger smartcast display but it's still pretty small. BUT with the Matrix's screen you can receive the radio signals and display the findings of the smartcasts transducer right on the larger Matrix unit's screen. If you are on a drop off and want to know which way the ledge runs and where the point is etc then you can use a smartcast unit to cast all around your anchored boat and get the readings on the matrix unit. That way you don't have to move the boat and can actually see the lay of the land in a 100ft diameter all around your boat. The smartcast also shows stuff on the bottom and fish suspended in the water. It's a pretty neat little unit and would be a great tool for those that fish from the bank. Just make sure that you don't lose the transducer unit. I would recommend using 40lb test fishing line or some of the newer stronger fishing line when casting that smartcast transducer out into the water. You wouldn't want the line to break and see the 40 dollar transducer flying off into space. It could end up anywhere and could be easily lost.

As far as I know the GPS72 does not interface with any depth or fish finder. Kinda got me on that. How does that work? For what purpose would you connect the two?

[Darryl Morris]

Yes, I do connect my GPS to my laptop via a serial cable and download its contents using EasyGPS. I've been making seperate files for different lakes because I have maxed out the number of waypoints. Time to start deleting unwanted ones. Better to mark and have than not mark and never find, I like to say. Only one precaution though. EasyGPS allows duplicate waypoint names, but the GPS72 does not. So, when you upload it will save the coordinate of the last, writing over all previous duplicates. I use Garmin 160 and a 240 in one boat and a Pinpoint in the other and transport my GPS with me between boats. I see no reason to combine into one unit at this time. Maybe when momma lets me get a new boat I'll get one of those F/F units that has a GPS built in.